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London Marathon e-donations top £1m

Charities enjoy cash bonanza through online sponsorship

Runners who completed this year's London Marathon have raised over £1m for charities through online donations.

Each runner was able to set up their own web page where friends could make pledges.

One runner opting to do this was heroic ex-boxer Michael Watson, who has raised more than £17,000 for the Brain and Spine Foundation.

Watson suffered near-fatal brain injuries in a fight with Chris Eubank in 1991, and overcame partial paralysis to complete the gruelling course.

The electronic sponsorship was set up by justgiving.com, which creates individual pages for any runner wanting to collect online. The web address can then be emailed to friends and family.

Having finished the marathon, payments are made electronically and are eligible for 28 per cent tax relief through Gift Aid.

"The runners have spent enough energy trying to complete the course. We've taken some of the effort out of collecting the donations for them," said Anne-Marie Huby, managing director at justgiving.com.

Almost 3,500 runners decided to try online sponsorship this year, and have raised over £1m so far.

Software from Quantiv automatically takes the money out of donors' accounts, and deposits it with the charities.

Those wanting to make donations to Michael Watson's chosen charity can do so here.